1935 Series (banknotes)

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The 1935 Series was the first series of banknotes the Bank of Canada issued.

The Bank of Canada was created in 1934 and given responsibility, through an Act of Parliament, to regulate the country's money supply and to "promote the economic and financial welfare of Canada." Accordingly, it was given the exclusive right to issue bank notes in Canada. On 11 March 1935, the Bank of Canada issued its first series of bank notes.

The first bank notes were unilingual. All denominations were available in either English or French. The designs were identical, differing only in the language used. The front of the notes featured a portrait of a member of the royal family or of a former Canadian prime minister. Allegorical figures alluding to Canada's growing agricultural, industrial, and commercial prosperity appeared on the back of each note.

Unique to the 1935 series were

All bills measure 152.4 × 73.025 mm (6.0 × 2.875 inches). This is the only Bank of Canada series that includes $25 and $500 bank notes.

1935 Series
Image Value Main Colour Description Date of
Obverse Reverse Obverse Reverse printing issue


$1 Green King George V Agriculture allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$2 Blue Queen Mary Transportation allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$5 Orange Edward, Prince of Wales Electric power allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$10 Purple Princess Mary Harvest allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$20 Rose Pink Princess Elizabeth Agriculture allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$25 Royal purple King George V and Queen Mary Windsor Castle 1935 6 May 1935


$50 Brown Prince Albert, Duke of York Modern Inventions allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$100 Dark Brown Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester Commerce and industry allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$500 Sepia Sir John A. Macdonald Fertility allegory 1935 11 March 1935


$1000 Dark Green Sir Wilfrid Laurier Security allegory 1935 11 March 1935
These images are to scale at 0.7 pixels per millimetre, a Wikipedia standard for world banknotes. For table standards, see the banknote specification table.
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